It has been decided by
the competent authority that the Bureau of Immigration, Government of
India will accept PIO cards as valid travel document till 30.09.2019
along with valid foreign passport and the Indian Immigration Check
Post(s) will continue to consider all PIO cards valid for exit/entry
into India till 30.09.2019. This extension of timeline is subject to
the condition that if in the meantime any deadline is notified by the
ICAO thereby making hand written PIO cards invalid, then PIO
cardholders may have to obtain appropriate visa from Indian
Missions/Posts abroad, if they have not converted their PIO cards to
OCI cards.

All
PIO card holders are advised to apply for conversion of PIO cards to
OCI cards, at the earliest.

GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORMED THAT THE FEE FOR CONVERSION OF PIO CARD TO OCI CARD IS EUROS 95.00 + EUROS 3.00 TOWARDS ICWF WITH EFFECT FROM 01.01.2018.

Hence, it will be necessary upon PIO cardholders to obtain machine readable OCI cards in lieu of existing hand written PIO cards before October, 2018 to avoid any inconvenience.

Those travelling to India on the strength of PIO Cards (handwritten) after ICAO’s rules/guidelines (with respect to travel with machine readable travel documents) come into effect from October, 2018, will be refused entry at the Indian immigration counters and sent back.

Hence, it will be necessary upon PIO cardholders to obtain machine readable OCI cards in lieu of existing hand written PIO cards before October, 2018 to avoid any inconvenience.

Those travelling to India on the strength of PIO Cards (handwritten) after ICAO’s rules/guidelines (with respect to travel with machine readable travel documents) come into effect from October, 2018, will be refused entry at the Indian immigration counters and sent back.

In order to take advantage of getting such PIO cards converted into machine readable OCI cards on GRATIS basis, it will be advisable to get these converted before 31.12.2017.

Any request for conversion of PIO card to OCI card after the expiry of the current deadline of 31st December, 2017, will attract a fee of US $ 275, which is same as charged for issuance of fresh OCI Card.

Since PIO and OCI Card Schemes have been merged, Government of India has decided to discontinue issuance of any new PIO card with effect from January 9, 2015. All those who are holding PIO Cards will now have to apply for OCI card, at the earliest, but not later than 31st December, 2017.

The OCI application form is available on the website https://passport.gov.in/oci/. The OCI form has to be filled up online. Subsequently, a copy of the filled up OCI application form downloaded from the website, along with supporting documents, are to be submitted to the Consulate General of India, Milan or any Embassy/High Commission/Consulate General of India. In addition, you may also see the website of the Consulate General of India, Milan for the list of supporting documents required for verification of OCI cards.

ALL PIO CARD HOLDERS ARE ONCE AGAIN REMINDED THAT THE LAST DATE FOR CONVERSION OF PIO CARDS TO OCI CARDS IS 31.12.2017.

IF ANYBODY, WHO IS STILL HOLDING PIO CARD, ARE ADVISED TO SUBMIT THEIR APPLICATION FOR CONVERSION OF PIO CARD TO OCI CARD, IMMEDIATELY, BUT NOT LATER THAN 31.12.2017.

OCI APPLICATION FORM HAS TO BE FILLED UP ONLINE. SUBSEQUENTLY, A COPY OF THE FILLED UP OCI APPLICATION FORM DOWNLOADED FROM THE WEBSITE, ALONG WITH SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS, ARE TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA, MILAN OR ANY EMBASSY/HIGH COMMISSION/ CONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA.